1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains generally to bulk material handling assemblies including, but not limited to, bulk material feeders, screen separators, and chutes. More specifically, the present invention pertains to such assemblies that include vibrators used to shake the assemblies so as to prevent bulk material stagnation or to promote bulk material separation. In particular, the present invention pertains to a saddle clamp mounting system for attaching a vibrator to a bulk material handling assembly.
2. General Background
The use of vibrators on bulk material handling systems is well known. Vibrators are often used on assemblies such as bulk material feeders, screen separators, chutes, and hoppers. There are several common methods of attaching vibrators to such bulk material handling assemblies. One way of doing so is to configure the vibrator as an elongate tube that spans the distance between two spaced-apart walls of the assembly. An example of this type of mounting system is provided in U.S. Pat. No. 3,929,642, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Another way of attaching vibrators to such bulk material handling assemblies is to provide the vibrators with a foot mounting system that is configured to mount the vibrator against a single flat surface. Such a vibrator is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/458,582, filed on Apr. 27, 2012, which also is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. In either case, the weight of the vibrators makes it difficult for service personnel to align the vibrators properly during installation or replacement of such vibrators. Thus, there remains a need for a mounting system that facilitates the installation of vibrators and that is still robust.